I’ve been looking forward to Michael J. Bassett’s Solomon Kane ever since we caught some glimpses of the sword and sorcery film back at Comic-Con. The film stars James Purefoy (Rome) as the titular Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian) character, and also includes Pete Postlethwaite and Max von Sydow among its cast. We haven’t seen much from the project up until now, aside from a trailer several months ago.

Today, the studio announced that they’ve released several clips from the film, including behind-the-scenes footage, in a convenient video widget. They’ve also included a higher quality version of the trailer, which definitely gives us a much better look at the scope of the film.

The new clips feature a look at the fight scenes in the film, as well as the many fantasy creatures. Check them out below:

While it may be independently produced, Solomon Kane honestly looks better than many big studio attempts at this spectrum of the fantasy genre. The film apparently had a $40 million budget, and judging from these clips, we see most of that on screen. I’m digging the production design, as well as the monsters (though the one in the Hall of Mirrors seems vaguely reminiscent of Pan’s Labyrinth).

Purefoy also seems to be inhabiting this character with a similar intensity to his Mark Antony in Rome. Compared to the similarly attired Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing, Purefoy’s Kane is already far more engaging from these clips alone.

Overall, Solomon Kane seems to be shaping up to be a fun sword and sorcery ride. There’s been both positive and negative buzz about it from various sites, and I can’t wait to judge for myself when it hits theaters in 2010.